can you keep a secret? [ON HOLD]

car ride.

the first school day was finally over and i began to walk home. my house was 30 minutes away but with my speedy legs i could make it home in 15 minutes.

i was walking with pace when i heard a car horn honk at me. rude much?
was my first thought, but when the tinted windows of the black range rover rolled down it all made sense.
giovanni.

how could he even afford this car? i rolled my eyes in annoyance "what do you want?" i questioned. "jay said that we should talk so here i am , wanting to talk.".fair enough, if we are going to be in the same friendship group we have to squash this beef immediately.

i reluctantly sat in the car and put my seatbelt on. "im sorry if i crossed a line earlier but you need to stop budging me." i tried to make light of the conversation.

i could tell he had a lot on his mind so he thinks carefully before answering "my mom is in the hospital right now." i could see the tears that he was holding back.

"look, i'm so sorry i gotta be more careful with the stuff i say." it stayed quiet in the car so i repeated my apology this time making eye contact

"im sorry , please forgive me". i pulled him in for a hug that lasted a good 5 seconds before he pulled away."we cool." was all i got as a reply.

i typed in my address in the GPS before he started driving.

"lemme have the aux...please." he gave it to me with a grin on his face clearly intrigued in my music taste.

i played 'work' By rihanna and drake and immediately started singing and dancing. i pushed back the seat and undid my seatbelt so i could do the dance from the super bowl the best i could considering i was in a car.

when my boobs nearly came out from my bra is when i decided to stop. gio laughed heavily as he said "why'd stop?" "why? enjoying the show?" i replied sarcastically.

as i put my seatbelt on. i restarted the conversation and turned off my playlist. "so tell me , why do you want me gone soo bad" i said dragging out the 'sooo'. he looked at me blankly before replying "a girl that used to be in our group um," he paused before continuing "she left suddenly without saying bye and it just doesn't feel right without her."

he looked genuine and i felt bad. i need to stop assuming stuff man. "im sorry, i keep on bringing down the mood" i mumbled the last part. "there's no reason why you should apologise, it's not your fault.".

my mind grows curious. "were you and this girl close?" i ask. silence. a good 30 seconds went by with no response. " you could say that."

"what should i call you , calling you gio or giovanni is too basic." "i don't really care." he reply's so dryly."why are you so dry, i'm trying to make conversation but i guess that's not going to happen." i say. im not going to keep on having a one sided conversation with someone that's not even making an effort.

the rest of the car drive was long and silent. not a single noise was made from either of us.
the car pulls into my driveway and i take off my seatbelt preparing to get out the car. before opening the door giovanni pulls my wrist. "call me gianni." "you can forget it, i don't want to call you anything anymore." i say honestly.

"please." hes says with his eyes peaking through his brown hair. "fine" i roll my eyes as i see him smirking as if he won something . i smile back and say my goodbye before heading inside my house.

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‼️mentions of abuse‼️

i walked into my middle class house. my house is decorated with white and pink furniture. my mom loves pink (light and baby pink) so she raised me to love pink aswell.

i walked in to the sound of shouting and doors slamming. the fuck? i shout "mom where you at? are you ok" i don't get a response. i repeat my question and still don't get a response. now you got me fucked up.

i search in all the rooms. living room. nothing. kitchen. nothing. my moms and dads bedroom. bingo. my mom lying on the floor with her hand covering her cheek. "mum? what happened!" she looks at me but says nothing. "mum you gotta tell me . did dad do this to you?" my mom looked at me with her eyes all glossy full of tears and nodded.

i couldn't believe it.

that bastard. i knew that him and my mum had been arguing for some weeks now but they have never let it go this far.

"where is he?" i questioned my mom. she finally replied "don't . it's fine. it's all over now." "but mum-" "no buts. you stay out of this. am i clear?"

i stayed quiet. even though we have our differences no one is going to lay a finger on my mum even if you were my sperm donor. " kali esther brown am i clear and i will not repeat myself again?" she repeated.

"i'll stay out of it." i lied to her. i left the room leaving her by herself.

i walk to my room counting to 50 so i could calm down. i bump into my dad. "hey wifebeater, how are you today?"

i sarcastically said. "kali don't start , you don't know the full story." my dad scolded me.

" so tell me! make me understand. because my perspective the only thing i see is a man that beats on his wife."

i shouted angrily. this man had lost all my respect. my dad looked at me and the only emotion that i could make out was rage. pure rage. in the blink of an eye i felt the back of his hand make contact with my left cheek.

"oluwatife kali esther brown i don't know if you have forgotten who the man of the house is but i hope that slap jogged your memory. you are in a nigerian household. never forget that." my dads nigerian accent poked through his monologue.

i stared at a man who i once held so much respect for, the perfect man with a golden perfect family image fall off his pedestal once again.

he told me that it would never happen again.

that he would get help.

clearly he doesn't care that much.

my hand held my cheek. the imprint still marked on my cheek. i was lost for words. i ran to my room and cried. i'm not even gonna lie. tears flooded. i locked my door and drowned in my own tears. eventually i fell asleep.

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1131 words!
i'm going to try to post regularly like at least 2 times a week for sure.
this week i have exams though so i'm not really sure how many chapters i can post.
please comment and vote it really helps⭐️!